Shukkeien Garden

Origins of the Garden

In 1619, Asano Nagakira became the lord of Aki province and he began ruling as the Daimyo from Hiroshima Castle. Despite ruling all of modern Hiroshima Prefecture and more, his villa lacked a garden worthy of a prominent ruler of Japan. As a result, a year later, his principal retainer and famous master of the tea ceremony, Ueda Soko, started construction of the Diamyo's new garden.

The garden is said to have initially been designed as a miniaturized landscape of Lake Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou, China. But, a quick comparison of the shape of Xihu and Shukkeien's main pond, Takuei, shows very little similarity. In any case, the garden is a circular-tour style that emerged in the Muromachi period (1336-1568).

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Matthew Bystedt

Restoration

The gardens, like most of Hiroshima, suffered considerably in 1945. Even in its shattered state, a number of victims of the blast sought refuge here. The Hiroshima Board of Education immediately started repairs to restore the garden.

Today, around 300,000 visitors come to enjoy the gardens each year. While it isn't considered one of the top three gardens in Japan, it is worth a visit if you have an extra hour or so in Hiroshima.

Tea Ceremony - 茶会

The Shukkeien Garden holds tea ceremonies all year round. Most months have at least one special tea ceremony that takes place during that month.

January - Daifuku (大福茶会) - Bean jam stuffed rice cake tea ceremony

February - Umemi (梅見茶会) - Plum blossom viewing tea ceremony

March - Momomi (桃見茶会) - Peach blossom viewing tea ceremony

April - Kanou (観桜茶会) - Cherry blossom viewing tea ceremony

May - Chyatsumi (茶摘茶会) - Tea harvesting tea ceremony

June - Jyoubu (じょうぶ茶会) - Good health tea ceremony

June - Taue-Matsuri (田植まつり) - Rice Planting Festival

August - Nouryou (納涼茶会) - Evening tea ceremony

September - Keirou (敬老茶会) - Respect for elders tea ceremony

September - Kangetsu (観月茶会) - Moon viewing tea ceremony

November - Kikumi (菊見茶会) - Chrysanthemum viewing tea ceremony

December - Momiji (もみじ茶会) - Japanese maple tea ceremony

Flower Viewing

This chart shows the approximate flowering times of the major flowers in the garden. '<' and '>' indicate the flower is in bloom towards the end of the month or the beginning of the month.

Flower

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Plum

<+

+>

Cherry

<

>

Peony

<

>

These dates are not perfect as flowers bloom when they want to.

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Matthew Bystedt

Getting There

The Shukkeien Gardens is directly north of Hiroshima Castle and a short 10 minute walk from Hiroshima Station. The route from between the station and the garden is well marked with signposts in English and Japanese.